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Saudi bidding hits $17.90/MWh as PV turns the price screw

The PV sector closed in on a new power-price milestone as it emerged that bidding in Saudi Arabia’s solar auction dipped below a headline rate of $20/MWh.

Abu Dhabi clean energy group Masdar and French energy giant EDF submitted a bid equivalent to $17.9/MWh during bidding for a 300MW PV plant to be built on behalf of the Saudi government, said reports from the Kingdom.

If successful, the bid – one of eight that will be considered to develop what will be Saudi Arabia’s first utility-scale solar plant – would be below the $24.2/MWh bid into a project in Abu Dhabi last September, the previous lowest headline rate.

Industry commentators immediately cautioned over the difficulties of accurately comparing pricing in complex and diverse markets, with a large number of variables at play.

However, the Saudi bid will inevitably provide further momentum to a PV sector that the International Energy Agency (IEA) today said is set to be the “star” of global renewables growth over the next five years.

IEA renewables chief Paolo Frankl said utility-scale solar is regularly breaching the$30-$40/MWh level in certain markets – although he cautioned that no projects have yet actually been delivered at such levels.

Saudi Arabia – the world’s most iconic oil producer – is currently trying to kick-start a build that will see 3.45GW of renewables in place by 2020, ballooning to 9.5GW by 2023.

The Kingdom’s energy minister has declared renewables a “new engine of growth” and is also running a bidding process for 400MW of wind power.

The Masdar/EDF solar bid will now be considered alongside the others over the next month or so.

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Saudi bidding hits $17.90/MWh as PV turns the price screw

The PV sector closed in on a new power-price milestone as it emerged that bidding in Saudi Arabia’s solar auction dipped below a headline rate of $20/MWh.

Abu Dhabi clean energy group Masdar and French energy giant EDF submitted a bid equivalent to $17.9/MWh during bidding for a 300MW PV plant to be built on behalf of the Saudi government, said reports from the Kingdom.

If successful, the bid – one of eight that will be considered to develop what will be Saudi Arabia’s first utility-scale solar plant – would be below the $24.2/MWh bid into a project in Abu Dhabi last September, the previous lowest headline rate.

Industry commentators immediately cautioned over the difficulties of accurately comparing pricing in complex and diverse markets, with a large number of variables at play.

However, the Saudi bid will inevitably provide further momentum to a PV sector that the International Energy Agency (IEA) today said is set to be the “star” of global renewables growth over the next five years.

IEA renewables chief Paolo Frankl said utility-scale solar is regularly breaching the$30-$40/MWh level in certain markets – although he cautioned that no projects have yet actually been delivered at such levels.

Saudi Arabia – the world’s most iconic oil producer – is currently trying to kick-start a build that will see 3.45GW of renewables in place by 2020, ballooning to 9.5GW by 2023.

The Kingdom’s energy minister has declared renewables a “new engine of growth” and is also running a bidding process for 400MW of wind power.

The Masdar/EDF solar bid will now be considered alongside the others over the next month or so.